


A Face Like Yours

by Hannibalsimago



Category: Hannibal TV
Genre: Hannigram - Freeform, M/M, Meet-Cute, Photography, Will is a college student, different first meeting, so much coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 17:43:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17944223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannibalsimago/pseuds/Hannibalsimago
Summary: “#55 The Meet Cute” Prompt“A is having the worst day. Late to work, spilled a coffee, misplaced the cell phone, has an impossible song stuck in his/her head, and had chosen to walk home -- but it has started to rain. As A is trudging through puddles, s/he is stopped by B, who stares intently at his/her face before saying: "I'm taking a photography course and I'm looking for a model; would you mind..?"This was written as part of @Fhimechan’s & @Cinnamaldeide’s “Meet Cute” writing challenge.*Unbeta-ed *This art was done by the lovely and talented @bayobayo!   Please go give her all the love!





	A Face Like Yours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FhimeChan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FhimeChan/gifts), [Cinnamaldeide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamaldeide/gifts).



It was relatively early into the fall semester but Will Graham is having a day you wouldn’t wish on your worst neighbor. Usually, his day-to-day routine was pretty uneventful which was absolutely fine with him. He and the dogs were still getting unpacked and settled into the older farmhouse which he was renting from an elderly farmer who had moved into an assisted living center after his wife passed away. It was perfect for Will, on the outskirts of town with a huge area for the dogs to explore. Nice and quiet with few neighbors which meant he could concentrate on school work instead of listening to raucous parties and obnoxious roommates.

 

He was running late to school thanks to Buster, his newest dog acquisition who’s still a bit skittish and broke from the pack this morning to tree a possum. When he finally got him in the house, changed into a different pair of chinos and headed out the door, he forgot his thermos of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter. He only just managed to catch the university shuttle bus into town. It saved on wear and tear on the truck but only operated on a limited schedule this far outside of town.

 

Normally he wouldn’t be caught dead in at the McDonald’s on campus but their coffee was cheap, hot and fast. He rushed to his class and found a seat, setting his coffee on his desk while he pulled out his textbook. His elbow hit his coffee cup and knocked it over, spilling it over his textbook before dripping onto his lower leg.

 

“Son of a bitch!” yelled Will, jumping up and knocking what was left of his cup off of his desk onto the floor where it threatened to soak his backpack. He snatched it up in the knick of time but not before he was rebuked by the professor for disrupting class. 

 

Face coloring, Will accepted some kleenex from the student sitting next to him and attempted to blot himself dry before sitting back in his seat.  _ ‘Way to go Graham, scoring points with prof and your classmates.’ _ he thought as he scribbled in his notebook, copying the lesson from the chalkboard. Thankfully, the rest of the class was uneventful. 

 

__________________________________

 

Bev cornered him after the third class of the day. “Hey, what’s up? You ignoring me Graham?” she asked him pointedly.

 

Will looked confused at her consternation. In reply, she held up her phone “Have you even turned your phone on?”

 

Will patted his pockets “It should be on? Where is it?” he checked his backpack getting increasingly agitated as the search went on. 

 

“Don’t tell me you don’t have it,” Bev scolded him.

 

“It must be on the kitchen counter just like my coffee. What was so important anyway?”

 

“Tickets remember? I scored a pair!”   

 

“No way! How did that happen?” 

 

“Come on. You owe me a drink anyway and I’ll tell you.”

 

The two of them walk off to the nearest campus coffee shop, “The Daily Grind.”  Will thinks it’s an annoying name but the coffee is better than Mickie D’s. Will listens to Bev chatter on, feeling happy and relaxed for the first time today. 

 

As they stand in line for to order, Will is reminded why he doesn’t frequent the place more often when the song “Africa” comes on over the speakers and that explosive, annoying but dammedly singable chorus erupts. Bev even starts humming it until Will begs her to stop. 

 

“It’s never going to leave my head if you don’t stop.”

 

“I should just go up and ask them to play Wheezer’s version of the song,” she said. “Just to piss you off. You’re cute when you’re angry.”

 

“Stop! Or I’ll leave right now. And you won’t get your Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate.” 

 

“You wouldn’t dare Graham!”

 

Will sighs and orders, “An Americano and a  Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate please.” He hands Bev her drink and they exit the shop with Bev purposefully humming the chorus of the Toto song. They find seats on the quad, sipping their drinks, relishing the quiet at the end of the day. 

 

“Thanks Will. I’m off to the library. I have a report due. You heading home?” said Bev 

 

“Yeah. Thanks for getting those tickets.” 

 

“No problem, Graham. Just another thing you owe me for.”

 

They leave in opposite directions and Will walks to the bus stop, checking the posted schedule and cursing his luck. ‘ _ Just missed the last shuttle! Looks like I walk home.’ _

 

As proof the universe is aligned against him, three blocks later, the overcast sky decides to make his life even more uncomfortable. Will imagines a tiny rain cloud perched just above his head following him home. It wouldn’t be far from the truth as the wind conspired with the downpour to drench him thoroughly. 

________________________

 

Will is soaked through and shivering but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his street smarts. He’s aware he’s being followed after the sixth block although the man who is shadowing him hasn’t made a move yet. Will sees an abandoned old fashioned movie theatre up ahead and ducks under the overhang out of sight and relatively protected from the storm. Within minutes, the guy who’s been shadowing him stops under the overhang. He lowers his umbrella and looks around for Will as if he’s lost.

 

Will steps up behind his stalker and whispers menacingly, “Why are you following me? Looking to rob me?”

 

The man replies in an arresting European accent  “No, not at all. You have an interesting face. I’m a photographer and I’m looking for a model. May I turn around?”

 

“Turn around slowly. If this is a set-up, I’ll deck you here and now. ”

 

The man pivots to face Will. It’s a toss up as to who is entranced by whom. Both men stare at the other intently as though to memorize the facial features of the person standing in front of him.

 

“Please allow me to give you a business card. Would you mind..?” said the man gesturing to his pocket. 

 

It doesn’t look like he’s carrying a gun or other lethal object so Will acquiesces as the man pulls out a wallet and hands over a card. It reads ‘Hannibal Lecter, CPP, Master of Photography’ with his contact information along with a partial photo of one of the most iconic advertising campaigns of the past fifteen years. 

 

“You’ve got to be kidding, right? This was your work?” asks Will. 

 

“Yes, among others. Can we discuss this indoors? Mr?” replies Hannibal.

 

“Mr. Graham. Will Graham.”

 

“A pleasure indeed Mr. Graham. My studio is not far from here-a mere two blocks. I have no desire for either of us to catch our deaths from inclement weather. ”

 

As if on cue, Will sneezed. “Please take this,” says Hannibal as he hands his umbrella to the sodden young man. 

 

“Do I have a choice?”

 

“To take the umbrella or to come with me?” chuckles the photographer. “Of course you do but I hope curiosity will win out.”

 

“I admit I am curious. I’m nothing special.” 

 

“You’re shivering. This can wait until we are indoors. Please a few more minutes.”

 

The man was nothing if not persistent and damnably persuasive. Will turned to follow him wondering what the rest of the evening would be like and what had he gotten into.

 

___________________________________________

 

True to his word, two blocks later, Hannibal stopped in front of a rehabbed warehouse and unlocked the security door, ushering Will inside the building. “The elevator is to the left. Please watch your step. The floor is original and a bit uneven.” 

 

Will stepped into the small lobby area and waited for his host to secure the outer door. “Come let’s go up. Let me take that,” Hannibal said as he stepped into the elevator, taking the umbrella from Will. 

 

He pressed the second floor and moments later the door opened onto a huge expanse with one entire wall of windows. The opposite wall featured travel photographs, celebrity weddings mixed with photoshoots from magazine covers. Will looked at the collection on the wall and whistled while Hannibal deposited the umbrella in a stand near the elevator. He hung up his overcoat and removed his shoes and turned to Will. “Let me get you a towel. I can offer you tea or coffee? Or do you prefer something stronger?”

 

“Coffee please.”  _ ‘I need to keep my wits about me.’  _

 

“This space is primarily for my business.”

 

Will nodded as he noticed the antique Art Deco desk with outfitted with a business phone and a Macbook along with an incongruous Rolodex. At the furthest wall was a Danish looking conference table and chairs. Bisecting the loft space was a set of horizontal art storage drawers lined up in a row perpendicular to the wall of windows, neatly dividing the two areas. 

 

Hannibal walked along the wall of windows, stopping just before a floating staircase leading to an upper level and gestured to Will to take the lead.

“We will be heading upstairs.”

 

Will started “Sorry. I was woolgathering.”

 

“My apologies. I am sometimes accused of being a horrible host,” said Hannibal ruefully.

 

“Not at all. I was actually enjoying the view. It’s different to see the city from this vantage point especially in the rain,” explained Will as he climbed the stairs.

 

Will reached the top of the staircase and gasped. The third floor was an open plan living space to the right combined with a small intimate office/studio area to the left. Black wooden floors, metal doors, exposed sand colored brick and a bright white ceiling were the focus of the living space. The studio space had ample lighting along with a large white backdrop for photography at one end. A tiny office desk sat against the opposite wall and was adjacent to a floor-to-ceiling vintage file card units from a public library. 

 

“That’s for my older files. Nowadays, everything is digital. But it has its charm. Please come through and I’ll get that coffee.”

 

Hannibal turned to the right through a small corridor leading to the open living room, dining room and kitchen common room. The kitchen featured plants arranged into a living wall sculpture on one wall. The long narrow dining table had a Carrara marble top and there was a kitchen island with open shelves and a large wooden cutting board top. What Will saw so far could have come out of an architectural design magazine.     
  


Hannibal continued down another short narrow hallway and opened a metal and glass door. It opened into a bedroom with a small reading couch. Through a further metal and glass door was a small walk through linen closet which led to the bathroom. Hannibal took a large towel off the top shelf handing it to Will and gestured to the bathroom. 

 

“Please dry yourself off and I’ll get that coffee started. Once you’re ready, give me your shirt which seems to have gotten the worst of the rain and I’ll put it in the dryer to air dry. There is a robe hanging on the hook in the corner of the bath which you may use.”

 

Will thanked him and stepped into the minimalist bathroom. It was completely tiled and had a rectangular teak bathtub as well as a separate walk in shower with a wall of the same glass and metal doors separating the shower from tub area. The entire third floor was full of surprises and left Will intrigued about the photographer. 

 

He toweled off after removing his shirt and donning the luxurious bathrobe, wandering back through the rooms until he reached the kitchen following the rich scent of brewing coffee.

 

“Do you take it black Mr. Graham?”

 

“As black as my soul, Mr. Lecter. And call me Will please. There’s something about sharing a bathrobe which seems to put one on a more intimate social footing.”

 

Hannibal chuckled and placed the coffee cup in front of Will, taking the shirt from his outstretched hand. “Then I insist you call me by my given name.” 

Will buries his face in the coffee mug and hopes the fragrant steam will hide his flushed face.  He takes a sip and instantly relaxes.  _ ‘Even better than ‘The Grind’. Why am I not surprised? He probably roasts his own coffee beans.’  _

 

Hannibal watches Will for a moment, enjoying his appreciation of the coffee. He turns and walks to the utility room hidden behind another glass and metal door, just steps away from the kitchen. Will hears the dryer start up and smiles at the anticipation of wearing his shirt again, warm from the dryer. 

 

Hannibal is back in the kitchen pouring himself a tiny glass of some sort of amber liquid which is obviously homemade judging by the bottle it’s poured from. He carries it over to the oversized kitchen table and pulls out a chair across from Will.

 

“Would you care to try it Will? It’s homemade version of Frangelico.”

 

“It smells very aromatic and I’m sure it’s tasty but it’s a school night for me, Hannibal.”

 

“Of course. Please forgive me. Allow me to discuss my proposition to you and then when your clothes are dry, I can drop you off home.”

 

“I can walk home, that’s okay.”

 

“Nonsense. It’s still raining and all my efforts to prevent you from catching cold will have been wasted. It would be terribly rude of me to allow such a thing to happen. I expect you have many questions for me.”

 

Hannibal sipped at his cordial and waited while Will put down his cup and took a deep breath before continuing.

 

“Why me?”

 

“As I told you, you have an intriguing face.” 

 

“Were you stalking me?

 

Hannibal laughed, “Hardly. The head of the art department wanted me to sit as a judge on one of his holiday art show extravaganzas. When I walked through the quad, I noticed you and your friend. When you started to walk home, I got curious as the path you took was in the opposite direction of the campus student housing hub. I followed in the hopes I could speak to you. Nothing more sinister than that.”

 

“The photography. How long would it last? Is it going to interfere with my schooling?”

 

“Ah. I can assure you I’ll work around your classes. As to how long it lasts, that’s up to the client. Whether they are happy with my work or not. Although I forsee no obvious difficulties from them. They know my work and my standards.”

 

“Ummmm. Will I...be...er...substantially less dressed than I am now?”

 

Hannibal finished his drink and looked at Will, his eyes crinkling in the most amazing laugh lines. “Are you asking me, my dear boy, whether you will be...shall I say, sky clad?” 

 

Will flushed again and fidgeted with his coffee cup. “Yes,” he whispered.

 

“Not for this client, no. However, if our business arrangement were to continue beyond this engagement, it might be a topic to revisit in the future. But for now, absolutely not.”

 

Will sighed in relief and smiled shyly. “Would I be compensated for my time?”

 

“Absolutely Will. I insist on it. All above board.”

 

“I don’t mean to sound crass. But how much?”

 

“Standard rates for someone of your experience. Depending on the length of the sessions and number of photographs, it would probably range between $150 to $250 dollars I should think. Is that acceptable to you?

 

Hannibal watched Will’s mouth open in a perfect ‘o’ of amazement at the news.

 

“Who’s the client?”

 

“Oh, a tiny clothing company. You might have heard of them.” Hannibal paused and looked at Will as he finished speaking. “Burberry’s the name.”

  
  


  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I am gifting this work to both of the moderators because they love writing as much as I do, create fun challenges and are always incredibly kind and supportive to so many in this fandom. Thank you so much @cinnemaldeide & @fhimechan. ❤️


End file.
